Chest wall involvement

Hi Bcfree2013 (good name and goal!)
Mine was not attached to anything but they wanted to do chemo as well as the first thing because of the size and some of the tumor characteristics (fast division). Have you gotten info about the cancer cell type (receptor status of ER, PR, her2 etc)?
In the beginning I focused on all the scary stuff - size of my tumor, it's aggressiveness etc, but remember being stage III still means your situation is potentially curable! Also some of the scary stuff can actually be an advantage in the treatment situation, for example fast division makes it more likely to get a good chemo response. I did breathing exercises and tried to be present and enjoy good times with my family although it can be hard...

It's very hard in the beginning to both cope with the shock of recent diagnosis and also having to face a lot of treatment which you don't know so much about... BUT you will get through it! I have just finished my chemo. I had a very hard time in the beginning coming to terms with not having primary surgery... But as I begun chemo and time passed it began to make sense. Response of treatment can be followed as you go along making it easier to optimize treatment if there is not sufficient response. Once you learn that the treatment helps it's easier to go along. Although chemo can be hard at times - and you think in the beginning - it feels like it lasts forever... before you know it, it's all done! Some don't have many side effects. I wasn't that fortunate. Time sometimes feels endless but remember to think of the deadline, take one treatment at a time and most importantly take good care of yourself.

If you have time and energy try to look into the chemo drugs you will get and see if you can find some good tips on the boards - both to prepare psychologically but also there are many ways to relieve some of the possible side effects.

Good luck.

I have it on the chest wall, that is where it went with the recurrence.....on chemo have been since 2010...

Sandy

When I was first diagnosed I was already a stage 3 because after never missing a mammogram in 30 years I came down with ILC which usually will not show up on a mammogram or in my case an ultrasound either. I finally had the MRI from hell that showed a large tumor that was in the chest muscle and it was questionable whether it was in the chest wall. That was the bad news. The good news is that the tumor was 3+ positive for both estrogen and progesterone in 100% of the cells and fairly non aggressive grade 1 and a KI67 of 2. Because of my age 73 and the fact that I was fortunate enough to have a MO who trained at MD Anderson and stays very current I got to do hormone therapy instead of chemo. It worked like a charm. When I had a BMX after 20 weeks of an AI the tumor was half it's original size and completely out of the muscle so that they could get a clean disection. With an oncotype DX of 6 I am looking at radiation and at least 5 years of AI therapy. At first I panicked that I couldn't have it out immediately but now I am so very glad that I waited. It made for a much easier surgery and knowing that the tumor responds so well to hormone therapy gives me a lot more confidence going forward. One thing about ILC is that it is very sneaky and in my case the second MRI that I had at 8 weeks into the therapy showed a tomor size that was smaller than what we found at surgery. I am very glad that I waited because I didn't want to mess up the holidays. I know one woman who took an AI for a whole year before her surgery and thus was able to have a lumpectomy rather than a MX. I had no interest in doing that because I was way too freaked out by having something that would not show up on a mammogram. I didn't need that stress level for the rest of my life. Being able to do an AI as opposed to chemo was huge for me. It is my understanding that the current thinking on recurrence is that it has more to do with the aggressiveness of the tumor than it does with the tumor size or the number of positive lymph nodes which if you think about it makes sense. There are many different types of BC. They are not all the same animal and they do not all behave alike.

My tumor wasn't attach but almost, it was at the 12 o'clock position and was only milllimeters away.  I did neoadj chemo to shrink it and it worked, they got clean margins at my BMX and they took the fasia (not spelled correct, the membrane that covers the muscle).  I will be 3 yrs out in July. 

My MRI also showed my tumor was invading my pectoralis muscle. I did neoadjuvant AC, then axilla and herceptin, then surgery. My tumor went from over 4 cms to about 1 cm after surgery. They were able to get good margins. And then I had rads to the chest wall as well. It will be two years since diagnosis on March 1. I am doing great and think I beat cancer for good! Best of luck to you.

bcfree2013 - I see you are TN same as me, the big thing we do have going for us is that for most of us we get "more bang for our buck" with the chemo, it sucks that TN is more agressive but then chemo works better on more agressive tumors. 

I will tell you how I feel about my chemo (down 3 with 5 more to go, next is this Wednesday, also Neoadjuvant), I actually look forward to my chemo and start getting antsy before it because when I get it I feel like there is something now in me that is fighting the beast.  Chemo is our "big gun" in this fight so I tell myself that any of the SEs I get will be worth it.  Just my two cents.  Good luck tomorrow and check in with us when you can to let us know how it went.

I didn't have chest wall involvement, but a large tumor nonetheless.  These ladies have good advice. Hope all goes well for you.  We are all with you in this journey,

Cindy (IIIa)

Hi bcfree2013, just checking to see how everything went with your first chemo.

I too have been diagnosed with possible chest wall involvement in my left breast I have not been staged.  The surgeon wrote on my paperwork  T2, N0, M0.  My tumor is approx 2.5 cm in the 5 o'clock position with chest wall involvement likely.  It is a very fast growing tumor Nottingham 9.  I will be getting my port installed Tuesday Feb 26 and will begin chemo the next week.  TAC for 6-rounds every 3 weeks.  The goal is to shrink the tumor and pull it away from the chest wall.  Sounds like a similar plan.  Lets pray for the best,  God is with us.   

bcfree, glad that your first treatment went well. Shrink tumor, shrink!

I have been away for awhile but I am currently on round 2 and my tumor is definetly shrinking.  I have managed with very minor SE's and my blood counts have been back to normal ranges by 10 days out.  How is everyone else doing?

Blessings to all.